"This means... they've given up?"
Amidst swirling shadows, the Two-Horned Lizard gazed into the distance, speaking with a hint of disbelief.
It wasn't that it couldn't recognize the Black Rat's movements; it was just that several times, by a hair's breadth, really by a hair's breadth, the Black Rat had almost caught up with them!
Now, have you finally given up?
Shen Heng was also looking in that direction, at the dark figure struggling and fighting in the air.
"Um,"
He responded with a sound of agreement, then turned his gaze back to the distance, staring intently ahead.
"But now, we also need to find a way to escape these trees and the Black Rat's line of sight!"
The Two-Horned Lizard paused, then looked away.
What came into view were the shadows of tentacles, one after another, not as numerous as those surrounding the Black Rat, but equally frenzied and surging...
Its expression also darkened.
After a while...
Several figures lay on the ground.
The branches danced in the air, then spread almost without pause toward the distance.
The smoke and dust gradually settled.
The Two-Horned Lizard tried its best to suppress its panting, its mind racing with thoughts.
What kind of Calamity Beast caused this?! What happened to the Fifth Tier Black Rat? And why did it appear near the teleportation portal?
One thought after another swirled in the Two-Horned Lizard's mind.
The Two-Horned Lizard glanced at the several silent, panting figures beside it, but didn't speak before turning its gaze away.
Now is certainly not the time to ask questions.
While past experience suggests that whispering is unlikely to be detected, this is ultimately just experience, not a certainty.
Once discovered, they might not have the energy to evade the attacks from the trees anymore...
"Huff, huff..."
Suppressed, low breathing echoed quietly through the woods.
Time, Black Rat, portal...
Shen Heng let out a soft breath, closed his eyes, and while adjusting his state, he listened to the distant sound and forced himself to think despite his exhaustion.
Time flows on.
The restless forest has once again returned to its former tranquility.
At one point, the Two-Horned Lizard hidden in the bushes seemed to notice something and raised its eyes.
In the pitch-black night, a small figure could be vaguely seen flying overhead.
It seemed to be searching for something.
But not knowing their exact location, and not daring to come down, they could only fly around in the air.
After flying around for a few hours, it finally disappeared from sight.
Then, time continued to flow.
Then, at a certain moment, that small figure flew over again, this time accompanied by several other figures.
Then, they dispersed and stood silently high in the sky.
The Two-Horned Lizard looked up, its eyes filled with concern as it gazed at the black dots in the sky.
It's obvious without even thinking that the Fifth Tier Black Rat brought them here.
Fortunately, the nearest Black Rat was about 300 to 500 meters away from them.
In that case...
Just as the Two-Horned Lizard was thinking, a slight noise came from the side.
It paused, its gaze sweeping over there.
Beside him, a figure of similar size slowly stood up.
"Huh? What are you doing?" the Two-Horned Lizard asked instinctively.
"Let's go somewhere farther away. There's a high chance they'll search this place. Although Qin Yu is here, so we might not be discovered, it's still better to be further away," Shen Heng said.
The Two-Horned Lizard nodded subconsciously; it shared the same thought, however...
Somewhat hesitantly, it glanced at the still somewhat dark night and said:
"Should we wait a little longer, until it's just getting light and those Calamity Beast hiding in the night have completely disappeared, before we leave? Anyway, the nearest Black Rat is a few hundred meters away; they won't find us so quickly."
"Don't worry, it's almost dawn now, those guys won't be as active as they were at night," Shen Heng said, turning his gaze to Qin Yu, who had also stood up beside him. "Are you alright?"
There was no response, so Qin Yu nodded.
The Stone stood obediently to the side, watching.
Seeing that neither the person nor the beast had any objections, the Two-Horned Lizard had no choice but to stand up as well.
Then, the four figures carefully moved through the forest.
After a long while, they finally stopped again on a hillside.
By this time, the sky was already beginning to lighten.
The Two-Horned Lizard glanced at the faintly visible spot in the distance where they had just left, then looked at the several mountain peaks around them, all of which were higher than the one they were currently on, before slowly turning towards the human.
To avoid searching high up to find the Black Rat?
It seemed to understand the human's thoughts somewhat.
"Can I speak freely now?" the Two-Horned Lizard asked, opening its mouth.
Shen Heng glanced at the Two-Horned Lizard, then nodded, "Mm."
"No, what's with those Fifth Tier Black Rat? Why are they there?" the Two-Horned Lizard asked, frowning immediately.
Upon hearing this, Qin Yu and Stone also looked at their captain, as this was something they were also wondering about.
Without an immediate response, Shen Heng paused for a moment, then said, "I have a guess."
"Lord Shen Heng, what's your guess?" Stone asked.
"The portal to the outside world appears randomly, right?" Shen Heng asked slowly.
"Hmm, isn't that what you told us?" The Two-Horned Lizard frowned, its gaze fixed on the human.
"So how did we create this portal?" Shen Heng asked.
"When..."
The Two-Horned Lizard stopped abruptly as soon as it spoke, seemingly having thought of something.
Qin Yu's figure also suddenly stopped at the side.
At the scene, only the Stone remained, blinking and looking at the two who had suddenly stopped with some confusion.
It turned to look at Lord Shen Heng, and was about to ask a question when it heard the Two-Horned Lizard's incredulous voice.
"You mean, that Black Rat, through prayer, fixed the portal in that location?!"
Stone paused for a moment, then his eyes widened suddenly as he looked at Lord Shen Heng.
Shen Heng nodded calmly, "Although I'm not entirely sure, that's roughly how it is."
"No, how... how did they do that? How did that Black Rat know the portal would appear there? And why did it appear there?" The Two-Horned Lizard's lips twitched slightly as it asked.
"I'm not sure, but it's possible that they first asked us what we prayed for, then asked for our address, and then prayed to fix the portal to that address," Shen Heng guessed.
The Two-Horned Lizard's mouth twitched even more violently. "Is this even possible?"
"Uh... this is suspicious!"
Sister Liya's voice echoed in my mind as well.
Qin Yu lowered her eyes and did not respond.
A moment of silence fell over the scene.
This was somewhat beyond their expectations, and even more unexpected was...